Ep.36: Could Beethoven’s 4th Symphony Be the Best of Them All?

In this episode of our Beethoven Listening Guide, we turn to Beethoven’s Fourth Symphony, a work that is too often treated as a lighter step back after the Eroica. We argue the opposite. The Fourth is one of Beethoven’s most original symphonies: a work of astonishing contrasts, a mysterious introduction that seems to suspend tonality itself, a first movement full of joy and tension, an Adagio of extraordinary depth, and a finale whose tempo and character raise some of the most revealing questions in the whole cycle.Alberto Sanna and I also reflect on the place of this symphony within our recording journey. This was one of the performances that convinced us we had reached a new level in the project, and one of the recordings that still held up fully when we revisited it years later. Along the way, we discuss strict time, articulation, moderator and una corda effects on the fortepiano, Czerny’s extraordinary transcription, and the way Beethoven constantly changes direction without ever losing structural control.If the Third Symphony feels monumental, the Fourth proves something no less remarkable: Beethoven could return to apparent lightness without repeating himself for a single moment. This symphony may be one of the strongest cases for the claim that the “less famous” Beethoven is sometimes the most surprising Beethoven of all.Listen / orderBeethoven Symphonies CD boxBeethoven 5 on vinylBandcamp: https://authenticsound.bandcamp.com/Timecodes00:05 Introduction22:37 I. Adagio – Allegro vivace1:00:21 II. Adagio1:19:28 III. Allegro vivace1:30:57 IV. Allegro ma non troppo This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wimwinters.substack.com/subscribe